Improvement in car-couplings



Patented Aug. 11

l. W. LAMB.

Car-Couplings.

IML

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. e

JOHN W. LAMB, OF ELKHART, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,968, dated August 11, 1874; application filed f March 18, 1874.

' To all whom yit may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN W. LAMB, of Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented, certain Improvements in Oar-Couplings, of which the following is a specification The object of this invention is to furnish a simple car-coupling, by which the attendant can `couple and uncouple the cars and be placed entirely outof danger.

The ,inventiony consists of a coupling-bar having an opening and provided with a coupling-pin adaptedl to interlock with the opening in thecoupling-bar of the adjacent car, said bars being; rigidly connected to a transverse shaft projecting from the side of the car, and having -a'suitable handle, by which the attendant canzstand at the side of the car and operate 4saidtransverse rod to raise and lower theconpling-,bar for coupling or uncoupling the cars, as willhere-inafter appear.

In, the drawings, Figure l represents a sectionview. of the coupling applied to a car, and Fig. 2 represents a plan view thereof.

Theletter A represents the draw-bar, which is attached tothe under side of the body of the car, and through the forward end of which passes a'rod or shaft, E, one or both ends of which project beyond the side of the platform, and are provided with a suitable operating handle orvhandles, F. To the central portion of this transversely-arranged shaft is rigidly attached a coupling-bar, B, which is provided with an elongated opening, O, and a lateral pin or pins, D, projecting at right angles from the coupling-bar. In this manner, when the cars are brought together, and the shaft E turned so as to raise the coupling-bar, the pin D on the latter is caused to enter the slot O in the coupling-bar of the adjacent car, and the pin D on the coupling-'bar of the latter is caused to enter the slot in the opposite coupling bar, thereby mailing an effectual coupling. In order to uncople the cars, it is only necessary to raise the coupling-bar so as to cause its pin to be disengaged from the opposite bar, this being accomplished by turning the shaft E by means of its handle F.

It will be observed from the above-described coupling that the attendant is placed entirely out of danger while performing the coupling and uncoupling operation.

Suitable bumpers may be arranged on the car-platformsin order to guard the coupling devices, one form of which bumpers I have illustrated in the drawing. I claim as my invention- The combination of the transverse shaft E, with the rigidly-attached coupling-bar B, provided with the slot and coupling-pin, substantially as and for the purpose described..

JOHN W. LAMB.

Witnesses:

ORVILLE T. CHAMBERLAIN, Jos. BEROLZHIME. f 

